For those who live on a farm but don't farm full time

[saraha]

This is a spin off of the housekeeping thread.

 

If you live on a farm or homestead, but your husband has a regular job too, how do you divide up the chores? What kind of expectations do you have for the inside and outside?

 

We live on a homestead, and my husband works at a regular job 5 to 6 days a week. I was just wondering how others in this position organize their chores.

 

Thanks!

[fairfarmhand]

(waves hand frantically)

 

We do! How old are your kids?

 

My youngest is 4. When my kids were younger, my dh helped out a bit more, but typically all the house chores are my department.

 

I did the best I could, and he was very understanding of the disastrous state of the house most days. I got to where I would clean one room a day in the house, so the house was never spotless all at once, but underneath the clutter it was at least sanitary. Straightening, dishes and laundry happened daily.

 

Saturdays were our big farm work days, which is why I didn't do big cleaning on one day a week.

[CalicoKat]

:lurk5:

[saraha]

Hi! We have 6 kids 12 down to almost 2. We have pigs, chickens, and a milk cow. Right now, I milk mornings, he milks evenings and weekends. I am in charge of everything inside plus occasional farm tasks he asks me to do. He is in charge of outside and helps out some on Sunday afternoons while I am trying to plan next weeks school (usually folding laundry, that is all he feels comfortable doing, but hey). Right now I feel like we are barely keeping our head above water chore wise. We are always behind on stuff that needs done outside, and although it usually gets picked up, the house never feels CLEAN like, the floors are always needing attention, dusting, scrubbing the tub. So like the surface gets tidied, but deep cleaning never gets done. I was wondering if everyone else is like this, or am I just needing to kick it up a notch.

 

School is going well, no problems there.

 

How do you do things at your house?

[fairfarmhand]

So now, my routine is a bit different.

 

Of course, laundry, dishes, pick-up happen daily, but, first thing Saturday morning, the kids go out with DH to do a bit of work. I can get in about 1-2 hours of cleaning at that time, uninterrupted. I fly through the house and get it all clean, and afterward go out to help with farm projects. My oldest 2 are 14 and 10 so they are actually old enough to be a big help to my dh. The 2 smaller are big enough to help a bit or stay out of the way:)

 

I milk each morning at 6:30. My oldest dd feeds chickens, we all take turns letting them out and getting eggs. My second dd feeds dogs. My third dd feeds the cats. My son carries the compost to the garden.

 

My kids all work together to unload the dishwasher. The girls work together to clean the bathroom (one does toilet, one does shower, one wipes sink) I pretty much ignore their rooms, except maybe once a week, I will insist that it is cleaned so that I can vacuum. My 2 oldest dd's do their own laundry. My third dd folds and puts away her laundry. My ds helps me put away the rest of the laundry.

 

Throughout the week, I look for small jobs that the kids can do to help me out. These are small tasks but they add up to be a big headache for me if I try to do them all. Things like vacuuming the stairs, cleaning couches, baseboards, windexing the kitchen they can do in the afternoon.

 

Does that help?

[fairfarmhand]

Hi! We have 6 kids 12 down to almost 2. We have pigs, chickens, and a milk cow. Right now, I milk mornings, he milks evenings and weekends. I am in charge of everything inside plus occasional farm tasks he asks me to do. He is in charge of outside and helps out some on Sunday afternoons while I am trying to plan next weeks school (usually folding laundry, that is all he feels comfortable doing, but hey). Right now I feel like we are barely keeping our head above water chore wise. We are always behind on stuff that needs done outside, and although it usually gets picked up, the house never feels CLEAN like, the floors are always needing attention, dusting, scrubbing the tub. So like the surface gets tidied, but deep cleaning never gets done. I was wondering if everyone else is like this, or am I just needing to kick it up a notch.

 

School is going well, no problems there.

 

How do you do things at your house?

 

this was my life until my son was about 3. Yes, it stunk. Yes, I was tired ALL the time.

 

My advice to you is to focus on the daily(laundry, dishes, and pick-up) and then do one room a day. 8 and ups can learn to clean a bathroom, 4 and ups can dust furniture, 4 and ups can wipe baseboards and clean windows. Everyone can help with daily decluttering. Drag them into the room with you and break it down into individual tasks. You and you, wipe the baseboards, you and you, clean the windows, you and you dust. Mom will vacuum. It works better this way because they are not someplace else making a mess while you are cleaning.

 

Can you go to once a day milking?

[fairfarmhand]

Also, your kids can fold laundry. Dump out a basket in the floor and have one or two kids fold all the socks. Other kids can fold all the shirts, etc.

[hsbaby]

I guess I can sort if join this club:). We just moved to 22 acres. It's a lot more work than we had anticipated. The house was a foreclosure, so the land is kind of a mess. We want to get animals, but have to get the chicken coop cleaned up, fences up, etc. So far, I have been taking care of the inside and dh the outside. But, I'm going to have to step it up outside if we want to get it under control. Needless to say, I'm pretty overwhelmed with it all! Look forward to seeing how you all do it!

[saraha]

We do have some chore division going on. My oldest is a boy with aspergers. Right now, the oldest three each take 2 days a week where they are in charge of unloading the dishwasher 2 to 3 times a day. They also (2 different day) are in charge of bringing down all dirty laundry, changing it over from washer to dryer or emptying the dryer and putting away bathroom and kitchen laundry, and 2 days each in charge of helping keep the kitchen picked up- we pretty much live in there, we eat and do school and it is the first room you walk through as you come in the back door. So basically each of the older 3 have a major chore everyday, plus everyone but the baby has to pick a room to tidy in the evenings. The younger 2 do a job everyday too, like pick up the bathroom, or hallway, or whatever I see needs it for their capabilities. My son also mows around the house once a week.

 

Maybe I need to step up my expectations for them a little more. I like the idea of saying you two do baseboards etc like you said. I am guilty of babying my olders a little too much.

 

Do you feel like your kids drag in a ton of dirt? Mine are outside as much as I will let them and come in filthy carrying clumps of flowers, rocks and one is outside right now inspecting a mysterious pile of manure that appeared on the lawn near the house trying to decide if it was a plant eater or meat eater:tongue_smilie: Oh, and we have chicks in the laundry room!

 

Maybe what I need to do is buckle down more, or make a system where when we do this room we do xyz everytime until it becomes routine. Sometimes it is hard because my older 2 need more handholding than my middle 2. My oldest has aspergers and the next oldest has asp tendencies.

 

And my husband is pretty unobservant, so if the floor is picked up, he feels like the place is clean- never mind the cobwebs etc.:lol:

 

HSbaby- congrats! We did the same thing, our house was built in 1858 and we got it for a steal, then had to work on it for 7 monthes off and on until it was liveable. We aren't done yet:tongue_smilie: but we live here! I have learned so much, I was a townie, dh grew up on a farm.

[fairfarmhand]

 

Do you feel like your kids drag in a ton of dirt? Mine are outside as much as I will let them and come in filthy carrying clumps of flowers, rocks and one is outside right now inspecting a mysterious pile of manure that appeared on the lawn near the house trying to decide if it was a plant eater or meat eater:tongue_smilie: Oh, and we have chicks in the laundry room!

 

 

 

YES! WE did buy everyone rubber boots, which helps TONS in the winter. They have to take them off in the garage. And I made a rule that rocks, dirt and sticks MUST stay outside. They can store "special" ones in the barn or on the porch, but NOT IN THE HOUSE!

 

My dh chose WHITE tile in the kitchen when we built!!! Aurgh!He said, Wow! It will look great when it is clean! That happens once a week when I mop. I am lucky if I can get it dry before someone tracks it up!

 

I try to get mama chickens to raise the chicks so they don't have to stink up my garage!

 

I do milk by machine. The milker was well worth the $900 investment. I just milk in the morning too. I don't think I could stand twice a day.

[saraha]

We don't have a garage or garage like building. I have been asking my husband to build a roof over our back deck so that at least 6 monthes of the year we could leave boots outside! He might actually get to it someday.

 

I actually like to go out and milk in the morning (when it is not freezing) it is quiet out there and the kids are not to come out and talk to me unless it is a true emergency because talking makes the cow nervous;)

[ma23peas]

We all do what we can, teamwork...if the house needs tending, we will find 3 hours to get it in shape, if the pastures need tending, we will all pitch in...one sprays, one mucks, one picks up sticks, one tends to the animals...

 

Same for everything really.

[grace4me]

The ranch has given the kids some amazing skills. I came home years ago to my then-13yo telling me that so-and-so number heifer had calved and it was breech, but she put her in, put the cow in the headcatch, pulled it, the calf was up sucking and was tagged. She apologized for not getting a weight on the calf but she really did need to get to orchestra... :D

 

LOVE this! We are rancher wannabes, in an old farmhouse w/outbuildings in various stages of antiquity on only 6 acres (we rent ground for pasture and haying) with horses, mules, chickens,ducks, cats, dogs, 1/2 doz. 4-H steers and, since the girls started buying heifers to raise their own show stock....two cows, two heifers and two baby calves. Dad grew up on a ranch and Mom (me) grew up with lots of animals big and small.

 

Girls feed/grain twice a day for steers, once a day cows& horses. One is in charge of chickens, another stock tanks, all muck stalls. They split up am/pm chores "pretty" well. I used to do it all when they were little and DH worked out of town, now I just help.

 

I agree, it gives them such great skills. Eldest DD (15) is quite an operator on tractors and backhoe, the 14& 12 year old can drive in the field during haying. DH works a "regular" job for 4 -10's, and does the outside stuff on his days off. He does not do much inside, but he doesn't complain about the mess either. We all help with fencing, getting/splitting wood, haying, irrigating.

[LibraryLover]

We've always got 'chores', and some crazy work to do. Nothing is ever 'done'. There is something to do every single day.

 

:) We just take it slow, and prioritize. :)

[grace4me]

We don't have a garage or garage like building. I have been asking my husband to build a roof over our back deck so that at least 6 monthes of the year we could leave boots outside! He might actually get to it someday........... because talking makes the cow nervous;)

 

I am with you on the "back porch" project! You could plant a garden with what I sweep in my kitchen every day. And, we can barely get by the woodstove with the myriad shoes/boots which ring it spring/winter/fall. The amount of footwear is incredible! Oops! I don't want to talk too loud and make the cow nervous! I hope that one works for you for a good loooooong time! :lol:

[Shellers]

We have 20 acres and keep miniature donkeys, a miniature goat, a llama, a horse, chickens, rabbit, and five dogs.

 

The kids and I feed M-F, and DH feeds on the weekends. My DH fills the water toughs on the weekend.

 

My DD14 takes care of the chickens, goat, and bunny (they are her animals).

 

When we have hogs and steer, I take care of the hogs with the kids help. The kids and I feed the steer M-F. DH will feed the steer on the weekends.

 

I buy all the feed and make sure we don't run out of hay. We buy a lot of hay and the whole family will help put it up in the hayloft. I run the tractor (DH takes the bucket off the loader and puts forks on), the kids load the forks with bales of hay, and DH is up in the hayloft to unload the hay from the forks. When we run out of hay, I'll go to the farm supply and buy some and then the kids unload it into the feed room.

 

Everyone helps care for the dogs. My kids each have their own dog.

 

Every summer we have a big garden. Everyone pitches in to help. DH will disk and then I'll plant. Last year my DS did all the planting. A few months ago we had wild hogs come through and they rooted up the garden and other areas. We see wild hogs frequently, but this is the first time in 20+ years they have came through our place. I'm a little nervous to plant a garden now.

 

The pigs also rooted up my drip line to my tress. I'm sure they probably chewed on it too. The kids and I are going to have to go around and fix the drip line before it gets too hot.

[rwjx2khsmj]

We split work depending on who is available and what needs to be done. Dh does what he can before he leaves for work. I do things that need to be done mid-day or take longer than 20-30 minutes in the morning. We share the evening activities and things that need to be done on weekend.

 

For the house we try to break that work down by day. Each day we all pitch in on a task. One day for laundry, dusting, mopping & vaccuming, straightening, bathrooms, groceries, etc. The kids also have regular chores; composting, recycling, garbage, loading dish washer, hand washing dishes, cleaning kitchen, picking up their own things, feeding dogs, cleaning up yard, mowing, etc.

 

The degree of difficulty changes with the season and the number of animals on the property at a given time. Keeping farm shoes out of the house has been a life saver. We have a bench on the front porch where all the boots go. All other shoes have to be carried to bedroom closets every night.

[saraha]

So does anyone else's husband's job pay for their "hobby?" I like to tell myself I am saving money on groceries, but I know I am just moving the money spent somewhere else.:001_smile:

[rwjx2khsmj]

So does anyone else's husband's job pay for their "hobby?" I like to tell myself I am saving money on groceries, but I know I am just moving the money spent somewhere else.:001_smile:

 

We bought our farm a year ago. It's not paying for itself yet. We hope that it will be self-sustaining someday. Dh's job is definintely providing the farming dream for us right now.

[Live2Ride]

we own 5 acres, but share another 6/7 with our neighbors (they let us use them.

 

The farm was my thing more than his. Hubby pays for it all, hauls the feed for me, helps when I need another hand to build something or move something. But the day to day stuff...that's all me and the kids. I'm mostly capable to do many things here by myself though. I don't mind though. He does plenty of other things instead and will help when asked.

 

We've raised sheep (still), calves (have two), pigs, goats, chickens, and have 3 horses.

[mudboots]

DH does the outdoor chores, and I do the indoor chores. The kids are too young to be a real help. We hire help for me once a week, and we eat simple meals (lots of fresh fruits & veggies, plus crackers with homemade salsa or guacamole).

 

So does anyone else's husband's job pay for their "hobby?" I like to tell myself I am saving money on groceries, but I know I am just moving the money spent somewhere else.:001_smile:

 

This is our first year on our farm, and a lot of money is going toward outdoor things. We have a budget line to save up for indoor things, so I'm not too cranky about it. DH hopes the farm will eventually bring in at least a little money - or at least bring us healthy food.

[Alyeska]

I guess I can sort if join this club:). We just moved to 22 acres. It's a lot more work than we had anticipated. The house was a foreclosure, so the land is kind of a mess. We want to get animals, but have to get the chicken coop cleaned up, fences up, etc. So far, I have been taking care of the inside and dh the outside. But, I'm going to have to step it up outside if we want to get it under control. Needless to say, I'm pretty overwhelmed with it all! Look forward to seeing how you all do it!

 

Congratulations! :) We just purchased a 9 acre farm and are overwhelmed too. lol! We WERE looking at a place with 25 acres and I am SO glad we got this smaller place. Wow the workload is amazing. And my dh has physical limitations, so all of us have to work together. We are in the same boat...our place was not kept up. So not only are we trying to get it back to a maintained state, but are living, homeschooling and everything else at the same time. 12 hour work days (homeschooling and work) are common for us now.

 

Fortunately, our home is 1400 square feet so I don't have to spend tons of time cleaning inside...

 

To the o.p.--Since we bought this place nearly 3 months ago, here are some things we did to make the workload more reasonable.

 

Kids have daily indoor chores. This helps keep the house under control. If they forget to do a chore on their list, the punishment is scrubbing the bathtub or other chore I dislike. :) So I have clean tubs most of the time. Assigning the deep cleaning as punishment for undone chores is what helps keep the house really clean.

 

I decluttered a LOT. I can have my livingroom and kitchen spotless in less than 30 minutes, including having windows clean and dusting done. I am working at getting all the other rooms decluttered, particularly the sunroom and master bedroom/bath. Those take me way too long to clean.

 

Friday afternoons after school and Saturdays are outside work days. The kids get a flat rate for chore money ($25 a month each) and they have to do any and all chores we ask them to do. This works wonderfully and very rarely do they complain. :001_smile: Sometimes we also work on Sundays, depending on how much needs to be done around here. But we prefer Sundays to be a day of rest.

 

We have to mow ACRES of grass...so dh does what he can and I try and keep the front and side yards mowed so he can focus on rotating the mowing in the fields. We are unable to have animals to eat down the grass...we planted a huge blueberry crop and we don't want the plants eaten. lol. So the trade-off is having to mow.

 

Animals...we have 50 chickens and 10 turkeys. We also have about 40 pheasant eggs in the incubator and our first batch are getting ready to hatch in a week!! Birds are much easier to maintain than many other animals, so we decided to forgo the pig and sheep that we had planned on. ...maybe next year. :) The kids help me with feeding and watering the birds. I take care of cleaning out the coop. So as far as other animals, I don't have any suggestions...

 

Garden--we have a large garden space. The kiddos helped make the space and will help weed it too.

 

My best suggestion (something we've done that has already benefitted us greenhorns) would be to sit down and discuss how much area you want to do upkeep on regularly and figure out a chore rotation. For example, your eldest can run a weedeater while an adult mows. The other areas outside can be 'let go' except for a twice a year maintenance weekend. We've decided to let about 2 acres of our place 'go' but it is just field. So once a year we will burn off the dead grass and call it good.

[Alyeska]

Dh's off-ranch job has paid for the ranch for 30+ years. Cattle ranching simply can not pay for itself. My bro is fond of telling me that we could sell the place (600+ acres and 1898 water rights) and never work again. However, we'd like to keep the place in the family. That way we can saddle the KIDS with it! :D We haven't pulled a salary from the ranch in many, many years.

 

Wow. I didn't realize that cattle ranching can't pay for itself!

[mudboots]

It could if we could get more than one cutting of hay a year. But, at 8000' feet, we have a a 45 day growing season, on a good year. More than half the beef in the US is raised in herds of less than 50 animals--that means that they're raised as a hobby basically--too stubborn to get out of the business. When you hear rants about factory farms--that's not how most beef in the US is raised. Cattle are the ONLY commodity that does not get a federal subsidy like corn, cotton, chicken, etc. The more cattle you raise, the more money you lose. We got through all sorts of gyrations every 7 years with the accountant in order to show a "profit".

 

I appreciate this perspective. I hear the rants, but I've wondered about the other side of the story.